Forced Hand
by fallen2far
Summary: Dick Grayson is asked to look into a mystery.
1. Chapter 1

This is based on a Huntress Earth 2 trade I picked up recently.

* * *

Batman: Hello?

Bridget: Hello… Is Dick Grayson there?

Batman: You reached him. Can I help you?

Bridget: Dick? Hi… it's me. Bridget Clancy.

Batman: Bridget? Wow. I haven't heard from you in a while. I didn't recognize the number. It's great to hear from you.

Bridget: Yeah… I meant to call ye. I didn't mean for it to be this long…

Batman: No need to apologize. How've you been?

Bridget: Well… I've been. Well…

Batman: Is something wrong?

Bridget: No. Well, yes… Maybe… I don't know.

Batman: Bridget Clancy, tell me what's wrong.

Bridget: It's colleague of mine. They found him yesterday. They said he'd… uh… he killed himself.

Batman: …

Bridget: You know, this was stupid. I'm sorry to have bothered you.

Batman: No, stop. Don't hang up. It's not stupid. Not stupid at all. I'm here. Did you want to talk about it?

Bridget: Aye. I do.

Batman: So… who was it?

Bridget: His name was Steven. Steven Keller. He was a doctor at the hospital.

Batman: Did you work with him?

Bridget:Aye, he worked in the same hospital with me. Different departments, though.

Batman: Were you close?

Bridget: In a way. He helped me when I was starting out. He showed me around the place, always introduced me to people I could get advice from, he was always there for me when I needed help… he had a family, too. Two kids.

Batman: I'm so sorry to hear that. What about you? Are you all right?

Bridget: Yeah… I mean, I'm fine.

Batman: Is there anything I can do?

Bridget: I don't know. Maybe.

Batman: What can I do?

Bridget: Are you—Are you still a police officer?

Batman: Well… no. I'm working for the family business for now.

Bridget: Really? Oh.

Batman: I mean, I may know some people if there's any trouble… why? What did you need?

Bridget: They said he killed himself.

Batman: You said that. You don't think he killed himself?

Bridget: I don't know. They think it was suicide but it just doesn't make sense.

Batman: Why not? What are you thinking?

Bridget: I don't know… his family said he was distancing himself, he was always frustrated... stressed. It's possible.

Batman: You think it doesn't make sense.

Bridget: First of all, he was religious. Not just raised religious, he actually believed it. In his religion, people who kill themselves would go to hell. As bad as things could have been, I just don't see him getting that desperate.

Batman: Okay, that's something. But, sometimes people change. Sometimes we can't really understand what a person is going through.

Bridget: You think I don't know that? I work with troubled people. I know the symptoms. I know when someone gets to that point. And as much as it might be in my head, it just doesn't make sense to me. Not this time. I just can't believe it.

Batman: I didn't mean to-

Bridget: No. It's not you. I know it sounds stupid, but as much as it points to suicide, I don't believe it. There's something else. I'm sure of it.

Batman: I'll tell you what. I may not be able get to New York anytime soon, but I do know some people down there that can help. They'll stop by the department, see what information that's in the case file, look around. Then, they can fill me in and I'll talk to you soon about what we find out? Okay?

Bridget: Yes. That would be perfect. Are you sure it's not a problem?

Batman: Of course, not. It's what I do.


	2. Chapter 2

Dick was in the garage port of Wayne Tower. He was dressed in his Batman guise as he gathered his various tools such as pull lines, cuffs, tranq-darts and batarangs. Behind him, his computer was skimming through data and pictures in a chaotic strobe.

Dick Grayson spoke his commands to the computer. "Police Report: Scene Evidence. Audio play."

A lifeless voice emanated from the speakers of the computer. Subject was found dead 4 a.m. in a car park one block from his occupation. The position of the body suggested he was in a sitting or a leaning position towards the hood of his car. Gun was found 4 centimeters from his dominant hand. Gunpowder residue was found on his hand, forearm and shoulder.

Dick paused for a moment and looked up from what he was doing. _He shot himself? He works in a hospital. Doctors have access and knowledge of medicinal methods of suicide._

"Display gun."

A picture of the gun appeared.

Snub nosed-revolver. 32 caliber.

"Who was it registered to?"

A photograph of Steve popped up.

Steven Keller. Age of registration - 5 months 12 days. Location of purchase - Cash 4U goods.

_It's his own gun_. "Rotate X-axis."

An animation started moving the 3-d rendering of the gun as it looked almost as if it popped up from the screen. It rotated laterally. The image buffered as it turned. When the gun looked as if it was pointing at Dick, he commanded the computer to pause the image.

Dick looked at the revolver's chambers. _Two of the rounds were fired, plus the one in the barrel would have made 3. 3 shots were fired_.

"How many bullets were found?"

One.

"Location?"

24 mm medial to the temporal lobe.

"Was there surveillance footage on the scene?"

Yes.

"Play the footage."

The screen went blank. A few seconds went by and the screen lit up again showing the crime scene. The car park was almost completely vacant, except for a blue sedan backed in to the parking spot with the trunk appearing to almost touch the back wall. The florescent light brightened concrete and filled any possible dark shadows with a slight greenish hue. The quality of the feed was grainy to the point that it was difficult to make out specific details, but general objects like cars and individuals were noticeable.

From the left of the screen, Dick could see Steven walk towards the sedan. He was dressed in a long, dark coat and dark pants. In his hand, he held the snub nosed pistol he would have been found with. He walked directly to the car and stopped. Rather than walk to the driver side door, he walked around to the front in plain sight of the camera. He turned to face away from the car. He leaned on the hood, raised the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. His body flailed to the left and off to the side of the car.

"Who's the coward?"

Damian's voice interrupted the concentration Dick had on the screen. He looked back to see the child dressed fully in his Robin gear.

"It's not your concern, Damian."

His attention returned to the video screen as he tried to improve the resolution of the footage.

"If it's not my concern, it must not be important. I'm ready for our training."

"It's amazing to me how you're sounding more like a regular kid every day."

Hearing this Robin puffed out his chest in pride and smiled.

"I wasn't even trying that time."

Dick rotated a dial on the keyboard streaming through the video. The body remained still in the center of the frame until it was discovered three hours later.

"If you're trying to solve the mystery, I think I know who did it."

Dick didn't respond. He tweaked the resolution, but couldn't get any precise details like facial expressions or subtle movements. He rewound the video and played it again from the beginning.

Again, Keller walked towards the car. Robin leaned in and pointed at the figure and said, "He's the killer. Now, do your duty and train me."

"He has the gun out while he's walking to the car. Why wouldn't he get to the car and then pull out the gun?"

Damian rolled his eye and walked away towards the training dummies. "Grayson, you're attempting to understand the logical motives of a man unstable enough to shoot himself in the head."

"I'm not convinced it was suicide." Dick miniaturized the video and reactivated the audio interface. "Is there any other footage available?"

The monotone audio responded, No further video is available.

"You're not convinced that the video of a man shooting himself is evidence of him committing suicide? I'm beginning to question my decision to allow you to teach me detective work."

"Yeah, I really should let the next person in the long line of people who want to teach you step up to the plate," Dick quipped. "This is just the video in the police database collected for evidence. I'm going to have to pull video from the Car Park's security system."

"Why don't you have that green headed operator do it for you?"

Dick paused for a moment and pondered his response: _It doesn't concern her. It's a personal issue. I can't involve her. I don't know_. "Oracle's busy with another case."

He typed on the keyboard to display video feeds and filter programs for the Car Park that night.

"Filter all footage with images of Stephen Keller between 8:00 p.m. and the time of death."

Four videos appeared on the screen in quarter sized frames. The first was video footage of him was of him entering the Car Park entrance on the first floor. The second is showing him in the stairwell headed to his floor the third was of him exiting the stairwell door headed towards his car and the forth was the footage the police confiscated. The resolution was equally bad on all the monitors, except the one of him entering the Car Park on the first floor. The video there was crisp and detailed. Dick could see his expression clearly. Steven was very secretive in his movements, but he didn't have the tell tale signs of distress or anger.

"Does that look like the face of someone distraught enough to shoot himself?"

Damian looked at the screen and tilted his head sideways. "No. Emotions don't matter. There's a gun in his hand and he shoots himself in the head. The video would disprove any theory you may have."

"It's still something to note, Damian. That's a point for me." Dick continued to scan the footage of Dr. Keller in the video footage. Damian quickly responded as if insulted, "What point?"

Dick cracked a slight smile to his response. He paused the video again.

"I found something else. Look at the time code. If these cameras synch up, he exits the stairwell on the second floor at 12:34, but shows up at this camera where he kills himself at 12:39. Why would it take 5 minutes to travel across one floor of a garage?"

Damian looked at the monitors. After a minute without a response, Dick continued, "That's two points."

"There is no game, and if there was… you would never beat me, Grayson."

"I just found 2 odd occurrences in the video feed. It opens the door that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a cut and dry case of suicide."

"Okay, fine. I'll play this game. He's a physician so he should know the human anatomy. A bullet in the temple isn't a definitive way to kill himself. If he truly wanted to end his life, he would have known to put the gun in his mouth at a downward angle aiming for his cerebellum and his medulla oblongata."

Dick felt a shiver up the back of his neck hearing the 8 year old say that. _At least he's improving_, he thought to himself.

"There you go, Damian. That's one point for you. Now, sit here and tell me whatever else you can find."

Damian took a seat in front of the computer while Dick turned and walked away. He reached behind his head and pulled his cowl over his face. Damian looked back at Batman and called out.

"Where do you think you're going Grayson?"

"I'm heading out to New York."

"Excellent. A more vertical training ground would be welcomed." Damian leaped from his chair and followed Batman towards the Batmobile.

"You're not coming."

"You're dressed as Batman and preparing to leave in the Batmobile. I most certainly am."

"I need you to stay here to hold the fort, little buddy."

"I know full well that you only say that when you wish to go out on your own, Grayson. It only worked on me the first time."

"True, but I can tease you with it for the rest of your natural life."

Damian opened the door to the flying car and sat defiantly. Grayson smirked and looked back at the computer. "Fine. I win. 2 to 1."

"You can never beat me, Grayson."

"If I head out, you forfeit, so I win."

"There was no game and I wasn't playing."

Dick sat in the driver side, buckled his seat belt and started the engine, "You tried to get a point. That means you played the game. If we leave, then I win. If I win… you can never say 'you can never beat me, Grayson,' ever again."

Damian looked sideways at Dick creasing his eyebrows with a defiant frown. He then glanced back at the computer console. He could see the frozen image of the crime scene on the screen. Damian then took a deep breath and folded his arms and situating himself the passenger seat.

Dick shrugged and responded, "Okay, have it your way."

Before he finished the sentence, Damian had already opened the passenger side door and was darting to the computer screen calling out as her ran, "You can never beat me, Grayson and I'll prove it."

"That's right Damian. Show me who's boss. I'll ask Alfred to check up on you later." Dick reached to the passenger side door and pulled it shut. He activated the hover feature on the Batmobile and was off.


	3. Chapter 3

Huntress was tracking her prey for hours. There'd been a report of skilled hits and shakedowns in New York tied to organized crime families like the Falcone's and the Minh's. Throughout all of them, there was only one witness whose funeral was scheduled later that month. The documented description given of the prime suspect for the muscle work wasn't made public, but she was able to pull the file and found a man who called himself Karnage. He had no immediate ties to either of the families and there were several other allegations of ties to several other competing families. Karnage was a mercenary. If he was a mercenary, then there'd be some form of direct payment for his services. If there's a trail of payment, then the larger players like the Carmines or the Tarevettis would be in fair play for hunting.

She'd tracked Karnage to an abandoned single family with boarded windows and doors. He stood 6 foot 4 and dressed in a black martial arts garb with black stars, along the arms, asps at the base of his vest, nunchucks tied to his belt and throwing daggers at his lower back. Around his wrists were two light grey gauntlets that looked similar to Deadshot's personal pair of gauntlets, but they were thinker and shaded a darker copper. He sat in a chair sharpening a throwing dagger with a whetstone. To his right was a small side table with an assortment of cleaning, sharpening tools for his weapons. Dismantled next to the sharpening tools was a disposable phone with the battery removed.

It was hard for Huntress to hide in the shadows of the night. The moon was bright and the lights of the city were dimmed. All shadows were blended with the night making headlights on cars as bright as spotlights in the roads. The location was wisely chosen as it made it difficult to hide in one place for too long without being detected. She had stationed herself across the street of the building patiently watching through a small set of binoculars at the man sharpening his daggers.

Huntress heard a slight hum above her. She pulled her eyes from the target to look into the sky slightly surprised to see the Batmobile pass by overhead. She clicked on a small button next to her ear and waited for a response. After a minute, she heard her familiar friend's voice, "Oracle, here."

"Is there a reason Batman's this far out of Gotham?"

"Batman said he had personal issues and was heading down there. Why, is he causing a ruckus?"

"No… I'm just not used to seeing the Batmobile flying this far South."

"Don't worry about it."

"Did he say why he was out here?"

"He didn't say."

"Did you ask?"

"It wasn't my business."

"So, you didn't ask?"

"That's none of _your_ business."

"Now I'm intrigued."

"He's on his own case. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah? Well, I wanna know what he's doing, too."

"Concentrate, Miss Bartinelli. What's the current status of Karnage?"

"There's nothing really going on with him. He's just waiting right now."

Huntress's attention went back to Karnage. At that moment, he started reassembling his cell phone.

"Is there anything you need from me?"

"Wait… He's got a phone. Do you think you can get a trace on him?"

"Let me see…. I'm not reading any phones in that area."

"He's putting it together."

"Tell me when he puts it to his ear."

Karnage fidget with his phone, held it out in front of him for a few seconds and put it to his ear.

"It's by his ear, now."

"Give me a second…. Okay, I got the signal I'm hacking into the call now. I'll send you the feed."

Two clicks sounded in the earpiece and Oracle's voice was replaced with an artificial monotone voice.

"—armichael and finish the job. He's the last tie to the account. The target's increased his security detail. Use them as witnesses."

Huntress asked Oracle, "Did you get the first part of that?"

"Sorry, no. There is no recording device set up to record his calls. I'm recording now, but this is all we get."

There was a pause on the line. Karnage's deep voice broke the silence asking, "Is there anything else I should know?"

The monotone voice replied, "Your phone signal is too low. Someone's hacking your signal."

Huntress receded further into the shadow she was in, hiding as well as she could.

"Can you get the signal?"

Huntress could feel her heart rate increase and her breath slow. Oracle tried to relax her by saying, "He can't pinpoint your position. Our networks are isolated."

Huntress's slight comfort in her words was dashed when the monotone voice responded, "The signal's from across the street. Whoever it is, loose them. Do the job and then go silent until we contact you."

Karnage destroyed his phone and pointed arm at the building across the street. Out of his gauntlet fired five mini missiles. Each one of the missiles was aimed at a shaded area where there was little to no light. One of them was headed towards Huntress. Huntress saw this and jumped down from her ledge. With the explosions surrounded her and she could feel the blast impact ripple through her. She grabbed a zip line and fired it at a nearby lamppost. She swung to the ground and rolled into the street. Once she was at a halt, she saw the damage of the building she'd just jumped from. The mini missiles exploded causing massive debris and destruction. She looked back up at the apartment where carnage was. She clicked a release on her line releasing its grapple, and reloaded it. She aimed up at the window that Karnage was in and fired. Just as the grapple hit, the entire floor he was on exploded. Huntress covered her head and ran away from the falling debris. She looked up in the sky at the damage and called Oracle.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know. Somehow, whoever was on the other line was able to find the signal. Do you see Karnage? What's happening where you are?"

"He blew up his apartment and the one I was standing on."

"Can you see him?"

"No, but I'll find him."

"I'm calling Batman. We're going to need help on this."

"No, it's okay, I can find him."

"Huntress, he's not fighting you now. That means he's doing something else. Whatever his orders were, he's going to carry them out and it sounded like a hit. We don't know who and we don't know where. All we know is that he has explosives and isn't afraid to use them."


	4. Chapter 4

To Dick, this was the most arduous part of the business. Improvisation, quick thinking, creative thinking… those he excelled at and lived for. The part that took the most concentration was analyzing a scene. He had to expand his view, but focus on detail. He had to creatively imagine what happened, but not make assumptions. There was no deflection or finesse, just pressure and focus.

He saw the faint blood stain on the concrete. He stood in the vantage point of Keller before he shot himself. He then looked in the direction Keller was looking in the video. In front of him was a turn route for the next floor of the car park. He started walking towards the empty vacant area in front of him to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. He walked back to where the car was. Nothing. He went back into Keller's position to see what is visual range was. He couldn't see too far from where he was without turning his head further than Keller did. Nothing. He looked up at the camera. It looked stationary. It didn't look tampered with from where he stood. He started walking towards where Keller came from. He stopped right where Keller would have entered from the frame. It wasn't a straight line from the entrance of the floor on the other side of the lot, but nothing that could hint of what happened within that distance. There were still 2 cars remaining in the lot, and Batman had to rush himself as not to be seen. He started walking back to the entrance scanning around him for any sign of a struggle or… anything. Nothing. There were several places he could have been attacked, but nothing that proved that he was. He walked the full distance. It took him a total of 93 seconds to walk the full length of the car park. _What happened in the other 4.5 minutes_?

In the audio feed in his earpiece, Batman heard the familiar young voice of his partner, "Batman? Are you there?"

Batman raised his finger to an area near his right ear and responded, "I hear you Robin.

"I think I have something."

"What is it?"

"There's a connection to this Dr. Steven Keller person and a Bridget Clancy."

_Oh god_, Dick thought to himself. Damian continued, "Who happened to be your superintendant. That's why you're not including the red head in this research. You had a relationship with that woman, didn't you?"

"No I didn't."

"Then you want to. That's why you're trying to prove this isn't suicide."

"Damian. I'm doing a favor for an old friend. I owe it to her."

"If that's all it was, you'd be making that red headed one do the computer work."

"I don't want her help on this, Damian. I have to do this myself."

"Then why am I helping?"

"I didn't ask for your help. I said it _didn't_ concern you."

"You always say that. Usually, it means your case is challenging. I didn't think it would be emotional."

Dick stopped himself from going further. He paused. Took a deep breath and asked, "Did you find anything of use?"

"Of course I did. Do you really think I'd fail doing anything Tim Drake could?"

"So? What did you find?"

"He... might have been murdered."

"Well, I bet that was hard to say."

"I pulled Dr. Keller's financial records. 2 years ago, he lost a lot of money. Over a 7 week period, his estimated accumulate assets went from an eight digit figure to a five digit figure and was heading dangerously close towards four. Then, all of a sudden, the freefall stopped."

"Financial aid?"

"His legal records didn't say. But then, I became the detective you wish you were and came across a duplicate account. It had a livable amount of a little under a million dollars."

Dick frowned upon hearing the news. It wasn't evidence of it being a murder, but it was something. He then continued, responded, "Does it reveal the source of the money?"

"I know it's not a real bank account. The funds are real but the institution it's coming from is a fake."

"That's impossible. Are you sure about that?"

"Very. The fake institution has no EIN, FIN, SEC notation identification or serviceable tracing number. It's like some kind of ghost bank that has unlimited funds"

"How is that possible?"

"It shouldn't be. It bypasses all security precautions that require these verifications, but I've never seen a program that could cover all its bases like this."

"Why was Keller paid from an account like this? What type of services would he have provided?"

"Ah. That is where my superior detective skills come in. I noticed a payment of just fewer than 4000 dollars on August the 15th. That was 2 days after I'd sliced Zsasz across the abdomen with his own knife. Then, I saw a deposit on September 2nd. It was the same day that I fractured several vertebrae on a henchman working for Twoface that escaped."

"That's a bit disturbing. Were there any others coincidences?"

"I checked several of the other deposits... they're all within 1 to 5 days of reports of villains that were either injured or killed without finding the body."

"So, you think he's hired to heal dying bad guys. Wouldn't that be incentive to keep him alive?"

"Who cares? It's a point for me."

Dick rolled his eyes again.

"Anything else?"

"I expanded the search to include all cameras on the adjacent floors during that time period. I found there was a light on the 2nd floor that casts a light on a wall seen in the 1st floor camera. Now. Keller left the floor at 12:34 About 30 seconds later, I saw a shadow move past the light."

"So?"

"He was moving fast."

"Are you sure?"

"It was like he was running?"

"Where is the light?"

"Fifty-two meters from the entrance on the floor below you."

"I'm currently looping the video save files of the security system, but can you get a live feed of the cameras?"

"There's no need. I've already beaten you, Grayson."

"The point doesn't count unless I verify it."

"Now you're just making up excuses. I've proven: I'm better than you."

"Robin, I've walked up and down this floor. I don't see any light sources that would cast a light downstairs."

""Very well. I only need a moment- There. The light is still there."

Dick walked to the location Damian was mentioning. He walked all around the area, but could not find the light source. "Robin, are you sure that light's there?"

"I'm looking at it right now. I can't be faulted for your inability to find the light. If I was there, I'm sure it wouldn't elude me."

Dick waved his arms around all lamps and ceiling lights, but could not find anything that would cast a light to the next floor down. After a moment, he decided to go to the floor below him just to see this light he was talking about. He moved to the ledge and was preparing to jump when Damian interrupted him.

"There, you just blocked it."

Dick stopped in his tracks. He looked around him to see what lights he was blocking. Then he looked out to the street and saw a street lamp glowing in through the window.

"It was a fast light? Like a man running?"

"It was fleeting, but I was able to shadow pass by. Why?"

"I'm standing on a ledge, Robin. If he was running across this light…"

"What would Keller be doing running across a ledge?"

Dick looked a few feet outside the window. There were no ledges that someone could have jumped from. Then, he looked above him. When he looked up, he saw a ledge from the next floor up. They were tapered so a person could jump and swing from one level to the next. Dick leaped up and grabbed the ledge of the next floor up. He pulled himself up and tilted towards the edge. Once there, he leaned over and called Robin again.

"Robin, watch the light. Tell me if it's like the shadow you saw on the video."

Dick then flipped and pirouetted grabbing the ledge and swinging down onto the floor below.

"The shadow is a little bigger, but yes, that was almost exactly the speed on the video. So, do I win now?"

Dick looked at where he landed. It was in the path Keller was walking. Dick thought about the crime scene for a moment. There was no struggle, there was no physical exertion or bruising. The best way to hold someone without causing any damage would have been a shoulder lock or a choke hold. He tried to imagine the different positions, a martial artist would hold his victim from that spot. He then thought of the gun.

Even in a hold, Keller would have had enough time, to try to grab his gun and try to get off a shot or two. Dick raised his hand and pointed his fingers like he was about to shoot someone. He looked towards the walls and the floor to see if there were any busted lamps or cracks in the concrete. Nothing. Dick then pointed his finger as if he was trying to shoot someone behind him. As he brought his hand up behind him he looked up to the ceiling and saw a little crack in the concrete. He pulled a small telescopic lens from his belt and put it to his eye. When he zoomed into the ceiling, he saw a bullet hole lodged in the concrete above him hidden behind a light fixture. He then looked along the ceiling and all directions that his hand could turn and saw at another section of the ceiling, another bullet hole.

"I found the two bullet holes. There was a struggle here… probably a Triangle fugari clutch hold. His right hand flailed around with the gun in his hand and the choke prevented him from being conscious for very long. This is where he was attacked."

"Great. Now do you concede that I've won Grayson?"

"We still don't know who did it, or why."

Just then, Oracle's voice chimed in through the ear piece.

"Batman, can you hear me?"

Oracle proceeded to overview her and Huntress's situation with Batman. She then played the recording for him to hear. When the recording stopped, Dick asked, "What account is he talking about?"

Oracle responded, "I don't know. I'm assuming it belongs to whoever the target is."

"No, he says the target's the 'last tie' to the account. That means there was more than one target. Robin, bring up all the information on Steven Keller's account. See if anyone else tried to access it."

Robin groaned, "No don't go back to our case. They're chasing an assassin that shoots explosives out of his wrists. That's infinitely more exciting than a suicidal doctor."

Dick screamed, "I thought we settled he didn't kill himself."

"No, I said he _might_ have been murdered. I still think he killed himself."

Oracle tried to break up the argument before it began by asking, "What are you guys talking about?"

Before Dick could respond, Damian blurted out, "Dick's trying to disprove a suicide so he can sleep with his old landlord."

Huntress was the first to respond with an incredulous, "What?"

Dick felt his blood pressure rise and yelled, "I'm not trying to sleep with her, Robin."

Oracle pushed a button sending a feedback into the audio connections for all people listening. The high pitched "ping" almost deafened the other 3 heroes. When there was silence on the line, Oracle calmly replied, "What are you trying to look up, Batman?"

Batman summarized his findings with Oracle. Oracle in turn brought up the accounts herself and got a much more professional look at the content. Oracle took one look at the criminal software used to pay into the doctor's accounts and was shocked.

"This is amazing. I've never seen a program like this before. It'd take me weeks to crack this program to find out where it came from."

As she said that, Oracle's screen went completely blank. Barbara asked, "Wait, what's happening?" Ten seconds passed and then the screen came back up again, but all the transactions that tied to the ghost account were erased. The total value on the account jumped from a number in the millions to 25.38. It was as if the transactions never existed.

Dick heard the concern in her voice and asked if she was all right.

"I'm fine, Batman… the minute my computer entered the account, all the records just disappeared. I don't know who's behind this, but that person is very good."

Batman asked again, "Did anyone else access the doctor's account."

Oracle searched all the access logs in her system. "Yes, I got something. The SEC found this account when he was settling some debits. The account 'red flagged' and a DA in New York was trying to get a subpoena to pull the logs of the account."

"What is the current status of the SEC agent that found the account?"

A few moments passed and Oracle responded, "He hanged himself."

"What about the DA?"

"Still alive. He's in City Hall now. He requisitioned a team to keep him under observation."

Huntress spoke up first, "The security detail."

Dick ran as quickly as he could to the Batmobile. He leapt into the driver seat and took off. In a different part of the city, fired a zip line into the horizon and began swinging towards City Hall. Oracle said, "You're not going to make it in time."

Dick responded, "I know someone in New York who could help us."


	5. Chapter 5

With a ping, the elevator doors opened on the ground floor of the Federal Building. Assistant District Attorney Michael Thompson and his 3 escorts disembarked. Thompson was walking rapidly with a bluetooth in his ear and four files under his arm. His guards kept apace diligent and focused. They looked for anything that didn't fit or moving shadows in the distance.

"It doesn't really matter who they pick as judge. If it's Timberson we'll concentrate on witnesses and testimony. If it's Krier, we'll lean on evidence. The jury is another matter, all together."

The police officers guarding Thompson were looking to the distance and back to Thompson with quick glances. Officer Hall was the first to voice his concern.

"Sir, I think it would be better for you to slow down, we-"

"I'm not adjusting my pace to suit your needs, I'm employing you to keep up." He looked back down to the paperwork before him. "No, not you. I have a security detail assigned to me... That's not important... The minute we get names, I want dossiers. Files. Background checks... I know you're prosecuting, but I want the case successfully prosecuted."

One of the officers hop stepped a few feet ahead of the group. He glanced behind him to make sure of Thompson's pace and matched it. They passed his car while Thompson continued his pace.

"I'm about to be on the road now. Call me when you get more information. Thompson closed his phone and put it in his pocket and unlocked his car door. A "whip" sound came out of the night and one of the officers fell to the ground. The other 2 officers pulled their guns in an instant and were pointing them into the darkness of where they heard the sound came from. Karnage jumped from the night and pounced on the 2 remaining officers pulling them to the ground. With incredible speed, he struck one of the 2 remaining officers in the temple with his knee to knocking him down outright. Then he tripped the second guard and elbowed the back of his head knocking him out instantly. Thompson swung his car door opened and leaned into his car. Karnage pulled out an asp and reached into the car preventing him from getting all the way in. With his choke hold, Karnage was able to pull Thompson out of the car and hold him a few inches off the ground. As Michael Thompson began to lose consciousness, he saw a white and red line shoot across the sky. The white line sharply turned and headed straight for the two. In the matter of a second, Michael Thompson was on the ground coughing for air and Karnage was being held upside down by his knee. Holding him up effortlessly was a beautiful woman with a cape. Her eyes glowed red with anger. Power Girl spoke, "Not so tough now, are you?"

Out of the night, a high pitched, nasal voice called out. "**Don't move, Power Girl**."

Power Girl felt her arm stiffen. She couldn't move. She tried to move her head to see where the voice was coming from, but she had no control of her neck. Steps echoed in the darkness and a man wearing a leather duster and a yellow and black leather costume emerged into the light. Cliff Carmichael. The Thinker.

"**Let Karnage go**."

Power Girl felt her hand release Karnage's knee and he fell with a think thud. He dusted his uniforms and slowly got to his feet.

"Should we kill her?"

The Thinker replied, "By all means, Karnage; try.

Karnage aimed one of his gauntlets at Power Girl's head and fired. A smaller missile hit her across her face, but she was unphased. Humbled, he looked back to the thinker and said, "Look. She's stopped for now. Just do your thing, so we can get out of here."

The Thinker walked over the 3 body guards. He closed his eyes and held out his hands over the unconscious bodies of the fallen guards. It served no direct purpose, but helped him concentrate on the task at hand.

The new unit he had been implanted with by the Suicide Squad was lower in power to the one he fashioned for himself. It wasn't as easy as it was before Firestorm destroyed his unit. The world manipulated to his preference, and he loved it. The new neural unit needed much more concentration. Verbal commands helped with actions for individuals. The further the extent of the manipulation like changing memories or opinions or manipulating multiple people took much more concentration and time. The targets being unconscious helped.

"Hurry up, Carmichael."

The Thinker opened his eyes long enough to look back Karnage with a frustrated glare. "Don't talk again." He closed his eyes again and concentrated on his task. "The next time I say that, you lose your freedom of choice in the matter."

The Thinker reached into their minds and changed their memories of the events of the night. The 3 guards' eyes began to flutter.

**The ADA looked very depressed the whole day. **

**Something was distracting him.**

**He couldn't concentrate on his job.**

**There were problems at home.**

**He received a troubling telephone call.**

**He canceled their assignments and ordered them report back to the police station.**

**They hesitated, they were committed to their assignment, but the ADA persisted and ordered them to leave him or face the repercussions.**

**They left him, and headed back to the station.**

The 3 guards stood to their feet and walked towards their patrol cars. They entered the vehicles and drove off. When they were out of sight, The Thinker opened his eyes and smiled. "Well, Mr. Thompson. It looks like we're going for a little drive."

He then commanded Thompson to get in his car and told Karnage to pull their car around. Before he left, he asked the Thinker, "What about her?"

The Thinker looked back at Karnage. Then he saw the large Superhero still standing behind him.

"Oh my God. How could I have forgotten the beautiful blonde in the bathing suit and a cape?"

He laughed to himself told Karnage to get the car. He paced himself walking towards Power Girl, thinking aloud.

"Now… what should we do with you? If you were just a regular witness, I'd say it would be best to just make you forget you ever saw us… but you're not normal are you. You're a SUPER-hero." He giggled to himself at the idea. He stopped less than a foot in front of her.

"And you're one of the heavy hitters, too… aren't you. Kryptonian, right? That means practically nothing from earth can kill you."

The Thinker took his finger and moved one of her bangs behind her ear clearing her face for him.

"You're not from earth."

Standing in front of him was one of the strongest beings on earth, and she was weak in the presence of his power. Power Girl meanwhile, was pushing herself. She was straining without moving desperately trying to fight. The Thinker just smiled at her and said, "**Strangle yourself**."


	6. Chapter 6

A long stream of red light shot into the sky.

Batman and Huntress swung towards the source of the heat vision.

Power Girl was on her knees looking directly into the sky shooting short bursts of her heat vision into the sky. Huntress landed first closest towards her and tried to pry her hands away from her throat.

"Power Girl. Stop. We're here."

She stopped the eye show and looked at the two with hope then dismay. They could both see the distress but couldn't identify the source.

"What's going on?"

Dick replied quickly, "She's strangling herself."

"I can see that. Why is she strangling herself?"

"Power Girl. What's wrong? Why are you strangling yourself?"

Power Girl's face stared turning blue.

"It has to be some kind of manipulation. Puppet Master, Mento, Psimon…"

Oracles voice cut in through the conversation, "Carmichael. Cliff Carmichael. The Thinker."

Batman responded, "I thought he was killed."

Huntress retorted, "He must have gotten better."

"Okay, great. How do we stop her from killing herself?"

Batman reached into his belt and pulled out a sharp batarang.

Damian spoke up, "Did any of you idiots check the perimeter? If he's still controlling her, maybe he's still in view."

Oracle responded, "Not if he implants the suggestion. He could leave you controlled long after he's gone."

Huntress spoke up saying, "Maybe, if she passes out, she'll loosen her grip."

Dick reached behind his neck and started cutting at his cowl and said, "Do you really wanna take that chance?"

He completely cut the base of the cowl severing it from the rest of the costume revealing his face.

Oracle spoke up first asking Batman, "What are you doing?"

"Batman's cowl has a delta wave synch. It was installed years ago when the Mad Hatter started going wireless."

He put the cowl over Power Girl's head and maneuvered it so the eyes were in the right place. "If there are any artificial delta waves, it should counter it."

"Should?"

"She's kryptonian, so it might not work as well on her."

"How will we know if it works?"

"She doesn't die."

As if on cue, Power Girl responded with a heavy gasp of air. She removed the hand from her throat and planted them on the ground in front of her. She then started coughing and wheezing getting air back into her lungs.

Huntress crouched to Power Girl's side and patted her back as if she was trying to help her breath again. She looked up at Dick and Huntress, "You look a lot less intimidating without the mask."

With a smile, Dick reached into his belt and pulled out a domino mask and placed it on his face and replied "Yeah? You look like a weirdo with it."

"How are you feeling?

"Doesn't matter, right now. Thompson's in danger."

Power Girl stood up and concentrated on the sounds. She could hear the heartbeats of Thinker, Karnage and Thompson's. They were heading northeast, and they were still in separate cars. She rose from the ground and started taking for the sky. Huntress called out to her, "Wait. We're coming with you. Hold out your arms."

Power girl paused at fifty feet off the ground. She held her hands out in front of her. Batman and Huntress threw out lines at her arms. When they tied, Huntress called out, "Go!"


	7. Chapter 7

The lookout point was a beautiful view of New York. It was a small park area between Larchmont and the Bronx overlooking the Hudson. Many couples went there for seclusion… it was quiet. It was far enough away you couldn't see the surrounding city lights, but they still blackened the stars in the sky. The stars were faded, almost gone from sight… one would have to concentrate to see them.

Two black cars drove parallel to each other into the walkway. They pulled to a stop next to a gathering of trees. The car doors opened and two men stood tall in the night. Behind the steering wheel the other car was a man in a beautiful Italian suit drench in sweat. He stayed in his car unable to move, his jaw clenched in pain.

The man in the duster was the first to speak, "This is a nice spot."

The large man looked at the surrounding area bored.

"Not one for talking, huh? I like that. It gives me more to say."

They both walked around to the other car and thinker motioned his hand as if pantomiming a window crank. Hypnotically, the man in the suit pressed the button to lower the window.

"Pardon me. Have you any "Grey Poupon?" He chuckled to himself at the quote. "I love that movie." He looked back to the large man behind him his stone face unchanged.

"Maybe it would have been funnier if I said it in the car."

Finally, the man in the car couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Please… don't do this."

The Thinker ignored the man's pleas, "I'm sorry, Mr. Thompson. A job's a job. **Put the car in park and turn off the ignition**."

ADA Thompson had no purpose or thought to follow the order, he could only comply

"You don't have to do this. Jean-Pierre is a very dangerous man. He'll probably kill you, too."

The Thinker chuckled at the thought. "He might attempt it. Others have… but I doubt he'd be successful. **Now, reach open your glove box and pull out your gun**."

He felt his arm pull out the keys from the ignition and reach over to the lock box. None of these actions were by his choice. That probably would have scarred him enough; if it weren't for the impending direction they were obviously headed. He opened the glove box and pulled out a .22.

"What are you doing? How are you doing this to me."

"It's what I do, Mr. Thompson. You can research criminals and find legal precedence as an assistant DA; I can reach in your head and make you dance like a puppet. Now, **release the safety**."

The assistant DA could feel the ridge of the safety next to his thumb. He could feel himself move the switch while trying his hardest to will himself to throw the gun away. He had no control. "You won't get away with this."

"Actually, they hired me so that they would get away with it. I mean, do you really think it's outside the realm of possibility that you'd end up here? You're going nowhere with your case, you're all around frustrated with your job, you tried and failed to oust the DA on corruption charges jeopardizing your job and you completely distanced yourself from your family. All and all, you probably would have ended up here without me, anyway."

"I have a family you bastard!"

"Yeah, yeah… Cat's in the Cradle and all that. Now, **put the gun to your head**."

He felt his elbow bend as he moved the gun up to his temple as if he were in a dream he could not wake from.

"Please don't do this. I'll drop the case. I'll work for him. Tell Jean-Pierre he wins."

"He already has. **Pull the**-

Before he could finish the words, a white and red streak swept down and towards Thinker. Blue gloves grabbed his leather coat and threw him across the foliage. His body flailed to a stop face down. Karnage immediately took a defensive stance, reached for his asps and extended them. Behind him from the shadows of the trees, a purple and black clad woman leapt out to and hit him in the small of his back. He rolled away from the strike and repositioned his legs to prepare from another attack. Once, he'd turned around, he saw Huntress lunging at him with her staff extended.

He used the asps to swipe away the strike and counter into hip shot.

From the tree tops, Batman fell onto the roof of Thompson's car. He quickly threw a pellet into the car allowing clouds of gas engulf the interior.

"Sorry, Mr. Thompson, but this is for your own good."

The Thinker was on the ground he heard a confidant woman say "Give up."

The Thinker looked up to where the voice came from and saw the large Amazon like woman floating 2 feet in the air and slowly descending to the ground. She was straitening her forearm length gloves, almost taunting him. Above her head was a dark mask coving the top of her head.

The objective was the only thing that mattered to him at that moment. The Thinker screamed, "**Thompson, pull the trigger**." No shot was fired. He looked to the ADA and saw him passed out in the car.

"Bad move Carmichael," Power Girl said walking towards him.

Thinker raised his hands and tried to reach into Power Girl's mind again, "**Do not move**!"  
Power Girl took another step forward. A smile showed across her face.

"Not working this time, is it?"

Power Girl was moving slower towards Carmichael smiling a broad smile and cracking her knuckles. "So, you going to give up or do you think you could take me?"

Behind them, Huntress and Karnage were matching move for move. Huntress would roundhouse, Karnage would counter. Karnage would sweep the leg, Huntress would pivot and swerve. Huntress pointed her gauntlet at Karnage and fired an arrow. The little dart pierced Karnages thigh as he lunged out of the arrow's path. Carnage fired a mini missile out of his gauntlet at Huntress's feet, the little explosion threw her farther than she anticipated. She rolled from the impact and Karnage threw a star exactly where he knew she'd be. The star hit her in the forearm and felt a sting crawl up her whole arm. She winced from the pain. Batman rolled into the fight using his momentum to knock Karnage off balance. Karnage extended his asps and was prepared to fight.

The Thinker stood up slowly. His jacket was torn and his arms and legs were scraped and bruised.

He looked defiantly at Power Girl and said, "**Forget**."

It took 3 seconds for her smile to fade. She saw the Thinker's face begin to fade and fog. A flash of silver seemed to cover Carmichael's head which then deepened purple to a purplish color. She saw his leather coat and pants become a purple plated chest guard. His eyes became a deep white and there was a shadow of a beard appearing on his chin.

She looked behind her to see Huntress's costume change. Where once it was an armored Kevlar, it changed to a purple leotard. Fighting with her was a changed Batman. The domino mask remained, but the Dark cape became bright yellow and the symbol on his chest showed a large yellow R behind it.

She saw everything around her and recognizing it all but she couldn't remember them, like a soft song she hadn't heard since childhood.

Meanwhile, Huntress had gotten back up on her feet and lunged at Karnage. Karnage side stepped the attack and hip tossed her into Batman. Batman rolled out over Huntress and lunge kicked Karnage across the chin. Karnage rolled back from the hit. Huntress rose to her feet and Karnage fired another mini missile at Huntress. She again dodged the missile again, but this missile didn't explode like the others… it flashed and panned. The concussion grenade sent a course of vibration up Huntress's spine until her head had to shut down from the pain. Batman grabbed Karnage's arm and swung up his forearm into Karnage's chin causing his neck to hyper extend. He then rotated Karnage into a spinning headlock and downward punched into the back of Karnage's head knocking him out.

The Thinker saw Power Girl's disorientation. He didn't know what was happening, but saw an opportunity open he didn't have before. "Thank goodness you're here Power Girl. Batman has gone rouge and has attacked that woman."

She looked back to the two fighting behind them and a name echoed in her mind. "Huntress?"

"Quick. He's already killed the Assistant DA. He'll come for us next."

Batman stood straight up and saw Karen's hesitation and confusion. "Power Girl?"

She stepped away from both of them far enough to keep both of them within sight. "What's going on, here?"

The Thinker spoke up, "It's Batman. He put something on your head. It's warping your mind. Remove it."

Power Girl looked back and forth between the two. "Who are you?"

Batman slowed his pace towards Power Girl but calmly called out to her. "What's wrong Power Girl?"

"I don't know. What's happening?"

"What did you do, Thinker?"

The Thinker put up his hands and screamed. "Look. He's threatening me. If you don't remove that thing on your head, he'll kill us like he did Huntress."

Batman started moving towards The Thinker. A beam of light shot out of his eyes at Batman's feet. "Wait... Power Girl."

"Nobody move. I want to know what's going on here, and I want to know. Now."

The Thinker spoke up first, saying "I told you. Batman's-"

"I didn't ask you, Devoe. I'm asking you. The Batman. Who are you? What's going on?"

Batman thought for a moment… _Devoe, Clifford Devoe. The Thinker. He was an Earth 2 villain._

"Where's Huntress? Is she alive?"

Dick thought about the answer a moment, and said, "No."

Power Girl felt a lump in the back of her throat. Her mind was racing in a hundred different directions.

Thinker tried to take advantage of the situation and said, "See? He killed her. Batman killed Huntress and now, he's going to kill us. Remove the cowl from your head and-"

Power Girl interrupted the Thinkers words saying, "I can hear her heartbeat. I know she's still alive. You're both lying to me."

Dick responded, "The Huntress you're thinking of died years ago. That woman there, on the ground is alive. She's a very good friend of mine, but she's not the one you're thinking of."

Power Girl looked up to Dick and asked, "You're lying."

"Listen to my heartbeat. Forget everything else you think or believe. Just listen to my heartbeat. I'm telling the truth."

Power Girl listened carefully. The hearts of both men were loud to her. Their words confused her… but their hearts... "I'm sorry, but your friend is dead." He spoke the truth.

The Thinker spoke up first, saying, "Power Girl, he's lying. He's trying to manipulate you. He's trying to trick you."

His heart lied. Power Girl raised her hand and with the back of her hand slapped lightly the head of the Thinker. He flailed to the ground and hit the floor hard. A flood of memories came back to her as she saw a cascade of visions and faces. The world began to focus.

Dick looked to Power Girl waiting for some reaction, so indication that she was okay. When she stabilized herself, she sat on the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," she replied. "I just need… I'll be fine."


	8. Chapter 8

Batman: Hello, Bridget?

Bridget: Dick? Did you find anything?

Batman: Yeah, I did.

Bridget: So, what did you find?

Batman: You were right… it wasn't suicide.

Bridget: …

Batman: Bridget?

Bridget: …

Batman: Bridget, are you okay?

Bridget: Yeah, I'm fine… I'm just… what happened? Are they going to reopen the case?

Batman: I'm sorry, Bridget. They're not.

Bridget: What? What do you mean?

Batman: Bridget I-

Bridget: You can't be serious.

Batman: Bridge-

Bridget: You can't really say something like that and expect me to… to…

Batman: Bridget, he was murdered.

Bridget: What? Wha—Why?

Batman: Listen to me… it's important that you understand what I'm about to say. Don't look into this case. Don't try to find out what happened. Don't look beyond the report, okay?

Bridget: I don't understand. What-?

Batman: He was involved with some very bad men. It wasn't his choice… he fell into it.

Bridget: What did he do? Why would they?

Batman: Bridget, it's better that you don't know the details… but as long as the lie exists that he killed himself, then no one will be trying to uncover what really happened. These people, they will do anything to keep their actions covered.

Bridget: …

Batman: Bridget?

Bridget: This isn't right.

Batman: I know, Bridget. But I need you to keep away from this. Please. If you do that, I swear to you. Before this is over… every person responsible will be out of their shadows. I will make this right, Bridget. There will be Justice.


End file.
